Spielberg's Tintin Status

There are conflicting reports over director Steven Spielberg's involvement with Tintin, the motion-capture trilogy collaboration between himself and fellow Oscar winner Peter Jackson.

It was first reported yesterday that, according to rights holder Herge Studios, Jackson would direct the first installment and "Spielberg, who had been tabbed to direct the first installment of the would-be franchise, will now be only indirectly involved in the filming."

The comics series, penned by Herge (a.k.a. George Remi), follows the globe-trotting adventures of young journalist Tintin (Thomas Sangster) and his various companions — particularly his dog Snowy and his pal the sea-dog Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis). The first Tintin film will reportedly be based on two of the books, The Secret of the Unicorn and Red Rackham's Treasure. Doctor Who veteran Stephen Moffat penned the screenplay.

Spielberg informed IGN last year that the film will be shot entirely with motion-capture technology, which is familiar to Jackson after King Kong and the Lord of the Rings films but still relatively new to Spielberg. The director said that each filmmaker will shoot 30 days of motion-capture: Spielberg would shoot his in the United States, while Jackson would shoot in New Zealand. Spielberg also said that the special effects will be produced by Jackson's Weta Workshop, but a high-speed internet connection between the two locations will allow the production to receive and process images quickly.